Last Saturday, I was dispatched to
Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., to see four of the more
storied programs in college lacrosse -- Virginia, Princeton, Army
and Georgetown -- duke it out at the Play for Parkinson's fall
event.

As excited as I was for my first taste of college lacrosse since
Duke's C.J. Costabile tinged the twine at M&T Bank Stadium, it
was still "fall ball" -- a time when coaches play in Madden
franchise-mode with lineups and schemes, when players are still
recovering from offseason surgeries and when the seriousness of
each team's approach to scrimmages vary widely.

Nevertheless, the tournament provided a glimpse of what we can
expect in the spring. Maybe not enough to provide any clear
answers, but enough to allow me to pose some questions.

1. Is Army's Garret Thul the next great bruising
attackman?

Watching the Hunterdon, N.J., native dodge brought back memories
of a young, sleeker Ian Dingman. It also made me try to remember
the last time an attackman as big as Thul pressed as hard to the
rack. Maryland's Will Yeatman is a load, but a little too nice.
Fellow Terp Grant Catalino and Princeton's Forrest Sonnenfeldt are
giants, but more of the plodding, set-their-feet-on-the-ground and
let-it-rip variety.

But Thul, an explosive 6'4", 230-pound lefty, has absolutely no
problem putting his head down and getting his mug a little
dirty.

Offensively, I think Army's going to need him, although I think
he'd benefit from taking off the blinders a bit. As much as I like
seniors Devin Lynch and Rob McCallion, they aren't the type of
midfielders that force teams to slide early and often. That's going
to leave a lot of the initiating to Thul and senior attackman
Jeremy Boltus, rumored to be undergoing shoulder surgery soon.

2. How important will the Army's transition game
be?

We last saw Army play in the spring, when it knocked off
Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. The Black Knights
-- hell-bent on denying the Orange transition -- turned the game
into a half-field slugfest.

So I was pleasantly surprised to see Army open it up against
Georgetown and Virginia and score some tremendous goals in the
unsettled.

The Black Knights certainly have the personnel to push the
tempo, starting with senior goalie Tom Palesky, one of the top
netminders in the country who made a number of great saves against
the Cavalier shooting gallery. He has several options on the outlet
-- including rangy long-stick midfielder Tim Henderson and short
stick Brandon Butler (think Jarrett Park but without the same
fascination with playing offense).

3. Is Princeton's offense for real?

The Princeton offense was impressive against the Hoyas and
Cavaliers. Whether guys were getting open using an on-ball pick or
an off-ball screen, the Tigers had plenty of success executing
coach Chris Bates's hybrid box-field offense. This despite the fact
that star attackman Jack McBride (concussion) and slick midfielder
Mike Chanenchuk (who broke his collarbone early on against
Georgetown) were both out.

What I don't know is whether Princeton's offense has improved
from last year (there are some talented newcomers), or if it's just
that its unorthodox pick-and-screen games are hard to play against
without a week to prepare.

Last year, the Tigers reached double-digit goals in their first
six games (including 17 in their first matchup against Hofstra),
but only hit 10 goals three times in their last 10 games.

4. Is this the best Princeton defense since
2001?

I really enjoyed watching the Princeton defense, which may be
the school's most talented backline since goalie Trevor Tierney and
long sticks Ryan Mollet, Damien Davis, Joe Rosenbaum and Brian
Lieberman donned the black and orange nearly 10 years ago.

Junior Tyler Fiorito, who is an early favorite for Goalie of the
Year, was terrific Saturday at stopping the ball and starting the
break. Long Ellis is an instinctive left-hander who plays with a
chip on his shoulder. Athletic cover guy Chad Wiedmaier seems fully
recovered from a knee injury last year, and Jonathan Meyers is a
former Division I football prospect who may be as uncomfortable
with the ball in his stick as he is an impressive athlete. The most
important piece of the puzzle could be long-stick midfielder John
Cunningham, an end-to-end pole whose moxie between the lines is
something the Tigers have sorely lacked since Rosenbaum
graduated.

5. How will Virginia's defense respond to the graduation
of Ryan Nizolek and Ken Clausen?

First, let me note that resident Cavalier tough guy and senior
captain Bray Malphus played the entire tournament with a wooden
stick. So I'll send my condolences to the Army and Princeton
midfielders who had to deal with the numbing feel of lumber. But
aside from the "King of Pain" still patrolling the midfield, the
Cavalier defense is different this year. Senior Matt Lovejoy is
back, but sophomore Harry Prevas (a crafty left-hander who got some
minutes last year) and tantalizing first-year Scott McWilliams look
like they'll replace Clausen and Nizolek on the Wahoo backline.

For the most part the "D" looked solid, playing quality team
defense and making teams work for their goals in the settled. The
defense's inexperience was most evident in the clearing game,
especially against Army's tenacious ride, when the Wahoos seemed
flustered and turned it over a few times. But these kinks usually
get worked out by the spring.

Certainly the new trio won't be as flashy as last year. Whereas
Clausen was a bonafide stick hunter, Lovejoy, Prevas and McWilliams
sit in chairs and seem to prefer v-holds over over-the-head
checks.

6. What is UVA going to do with all that midfield
talent?

I thought Virginia coach Dom Starsia was making a statement by
starting every scrimmage with Chris LaPierre on the faceoff and
short sticks Shamel Bratton and Rob Emery on the wings. Something
to the tune of, "I don't stockpile all these athletes at the
midfield so they can have a nasty offseason flag football
squad."

Nonetheless, with a whole stable of athletic and versatile
midfielders, one has to wonder who is going to do what. The
Brattons, Colin Briggs, LaPierre and the frosh Emery each got burn
playing offense, defense, and working between the stripes.

Starsia seems fine with the suggestion that his offensive
midfielders will do more than hit top shelf or draw-and-dump.

"We probably added to our confusion today. We were intent on
playing a lot of guys in different combinations, and so we never
gave ourselves much of a chance to settle in. But I hope we're a
team that can play different guys in the defensive midfield and can
attack end-to-end," he said.

7. Georgetown's midfield will be different...Will it be
good?

Having watched the Hoyas' rely on massive midfielders who could
uncork (Andrew Brancaccio, Scott Kocis, Dan D'Agnes, Scott Kahoe,
etc.) for the last half-decade, it was fascinating to see a
new-look, youth-oriented Georgetown midfield. From Brian Casey to
Ryan Shuler to Dan McKinney to Zack Angel to Brian Will, it's clear
that smaller, craftier midfielders are trending on the Hilltop
these days. (Max Seligmann at 6'2", 200 pounds is the giant of the
group.)

What's less clear is who's going to draw a slide to get the ball
to finishers like Travis Comeau down low.

Say what you want about Bronco and Kocis' shooting accuracy or
hype, but they knew how to draw a crowd and handle a long pole. The
most likely candidate for an increased leadership role seems to be
Angel, a quick lefty with a blistering shot.

The wildcard? Sophomore Dan McKinney. The upstate New
Yorker had trouble adjusting to the speed of the college game last
year, scoring only one goal while playing on the first line for
parts of the season. But he is an explosive, fearless dodger. If
he's able to shoot more efficiently, he'll be a threat. His legs
will certainly give him ample opportunity.